Jeddah short break

Jeddah has the country's second international airport and is the standard arrival point for the west coast. You are met and taken to your hotel.

The evening is on the corniche, which runs for over thirty kilometres along the water. King Fahd Fountain stands out in the sea off it at 312 metres, visible from across the city.

The whole day is in the old quarter, on foot with a guide, because it only works at walking pace. Jeddah has been a major Indian Ocean port since the 7th century AD and the point of arrival for pilgrims coming to Makkah by sea, and those two roles paid for the buildings that survive.

They are the signature of the place: tower houses of coral stone several storeys high, their facades covered in roshan - the carved wooden bay windows that let air move through while keeping the street from seeing in. Many are in poor condition and propped, and restoration is running one building at a time, so you are walking through a working site rather than a finished museum quarter.

Late afternoon moves out to the Art Promenade, the quiet stretch of waterfront that runs down to the marina, and the quarter is worth returning to after dark.

You go out by boat for the day. The reefs along this coast have had very few divers on them compared with the northern Red Sea, and Jeddah is the usual base for reaching them on this stretch of coast. Snorkelling gear is on board; time in the water is split across more than one stop, with lunch on the boat.

If you would rather trade the sea for mountains, this day can be swapped for the drive up to Taif, the rose-growing town in the Sarawat range, which is reachable from Jeddah.

The morning is open - the corniche, the souqs, or a second walk through Al-Balad, which reads differently on a return visit once you know the layout. You are collected from your hotel and taken to the airport.